DOCSLIB.ORG

Lifelong Learning Habits > Module 1> Reading: Lifelong Learning: a Definition and a Challenge ______

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Lifelong Learning Habits > Module 1> Reading: Lifelong Learning: a Definition and a Challenge ______ The Brain: Developing Lifelong Learning Habits > Module 1> Reading: Lifelong Learning: A Definition and a Challenge ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Lifelong Learning: A Definition and a Challenge Wilbur J. Cohen Seneca, the Latin philosopher, wrote, “As long as you live, keep learning how to live.” Centuries later Andre Gide, the French critic and novelist said, “The wise man is he who constantly wonders afresh.” The scientific and technological explosion in this century has caused us all to recognize that learning is a continuous, permanent, lifelong pursuit. It is a process which commences with birth and only terminates at death and is then carried on by others in a never-ending continuum. Education and learning are not synonymous with school and schooling. While schools are a vital part of the learning process, they are only a part. Parents, peers, and community institutions also play a vital role. I am constantly surprised at the number of people who assume that they have “completed” their “education” with some degree, certificate, or other credential. We give degrees, certificate in the United States in a ceremony appropriately called “Commencement.” A degree is only a passport to enter the world of work of experience and to help improve the quality of life. It is permission to commence. In my 40 years of adult experience I have employed many different kinds of people for different kinds of work. I have found that the person who learns by doing, who learns by thinking, who learns by experience is a valuable member of any team. The person who has a curiosity, a willingness to question the status quo, and the want to know more about his or her assignment is the person who most likely believes in lifelong learning. Our educational institutions must become more flexible to meet the needs of these persons. We must find more ways to break out of the traditional lines of learning and living. The human capacity for variety is unlimited. Our educational system today must take these elements into account much more than ever before. We could have more institutes, work-shops, and seminars on Saturday, Sunday, or evenings. We could encourage employers, unions, and individuals to give workers a sabbatical periodically to learn new skills or develop new careers. We could urge the extension and expansion of educational television programs. Community colleges should take their programs into the community to serve the needs of disadvantaged groups. Schools and community institutions should provide early childhood education centers for every parent who wishes a child to have such an opportunity. Senior citizens should be established in every neighborhood so that every older Source: From “Lifelong Learning: A Definition and a Challenge,” by W. J. Cohen, 1975, Educational Leadership, 33(2), pp. 83-84. Copyright 1975 by ASCD. Reprinted with permission The Brain: Developing Lifelong Learning Habits > Module 1> Reading: Lifelong Learning: A Definition and a Challenge ___________________________________________________________________________________________ person has an opportunity to continue to learn, enjoy, and experience new ideas and relationships. A New Concept of Retirement We should establish a new concept of retirement: phased retirement or part-time retirement. This would permit those persons who want to work and are able to do so to phase into total retirement over a period of years. Working part time or part year and “retired” part of the time, they could engage in new learning ventures in an educational environment, or in travel and group discussions. Educational institutions should take the leadership in fashioning different kinds of programs for persons with different kinds of need. We must succeed in persuading people to the idea that no person is too old to learn new or old ideas. These objectives must be accepted and advocated by leading educators and those publicists who circulate and perpetuate “conventional wisdom.” Our state and federal educational leadership should emphasize lifelong learning and make it possible for people who believe in the concept to experiment and innovate in this area. We need federal and state funds embarked for this specific purpose. The idea of lifelong learning is both a very conservative and also a very radical idea. It accepts experience and yet questions the existing order. It values the past and looks toward the future by maximizing the present. It does not repudiate credentials but it does not accept them as the only evidence of learning. “The Rise to Great Things” Lifelong learning is a challenge to our ingenuity and our versatility. It is our hope for a better world and for self-fulfillment for more people. It is not the exclusive prerogative of any group or profession or any profession. It is an enterprise in which young or old may join as Charles Perrault once wrote, “to rise to great things and stoop to small ones.” Our society is bombarded today with the foreboding of “gloom and doom” about the future. I do not share this view. We can build a better world, a more just society, a better environment, and a responsible and responsive set of government, business, and labor institutions. But to do so we must apply our best thinking to our problems. There is a vast reservoir of ideas among women, minorities, and the majority which goes unutilized and unrecognized. A nationwide program of lifelong learning could unleash vast resources which would increase productivity, happiness, and creativity in our nation. Now is the time to take up this challenge and make 1976 the year we revolted against our apathy and disillusionment to create a new direction in our national life. Wilbur J. Cohen, Dean, School of Education, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • How Can Lifelong Learning, Including Continuous Training
    How can lifelong learning, including continuous training within the labour market, be enabled and who will pay for this? Looking forward to 2025 and 2040 how might this evolve? Future of an ageing population: evidence review Foresight, Government Office for Science How can lifelong learning, including continuous training within the labour market, be enabled and who will pay for this? Looking forward to 2025 and 2040 how might this evolve? Dr Martin Hyde and Professor Chris Phillipson University of Manchester December 2014 This review has been commissioned as part of the UK government’s Foresight Future of an Ageing Population project. The views expressed do not represent policy of any government or organisation. Contents Executive summary ................................................................................................................................4 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................6 2. What is lifelong learning? ..................................................................................................................6 3. What are the benefits of lifelong learning? .......................................................................................7 4. What proportion of older people are engaged in lifelong learning? ...............................................8 5. What are the trends in lifelong learning? ........................................................................................10
    [Show full text]
  • Education, Skill Training, and Lifelong Learning in the Era of Technological Revolution
    A Service of Leibniz-Informationszentrum econstor Wirtschaft Leibniz Information Centre Make Your Publications Visible. zbw for Economics Kim, Jinyoung; Park, Cyn-Young Working Paper Education, skill training, and lifelong learning in the era of technological revolution ADB Economics Working Paper Series, No. 606 Provided in Cooperation with: Asian Development Bank (ADB), Manila Suggested Citation: Kim, Jinyoung; Park, Cyn-Young (2020) : Education, skill training, and lifelong learning in the era of technological revolution, ADB Economics Working Paper Series, No. 606, Asian Development Bank (ADB), Manila, http://dx.doi.org/10.22617/WPS200008-2 This Version is available at: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/230358 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Documents in EconStor may be saved and copied for your Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. personal and scholarly purposes. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle You are not to copy documents for public or commercial Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich purposes, to exhibit the documents publicly, to make them machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. publicly available on the internet, or to distribute or otherwise use the documents in public. Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, If the documents have been made available under an Open gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort Content Licence (especially Creative Commons Licences), you genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. may exercise further usage rights as specified in the indicated licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/ www.econstor.eu EDUCATION, SKILL TRAINING, AND LIFELONG LEARNING IN THE ERA OF TECHNOLOGICAL REVOLUTION Jinyoung Kim and Cyn-Young Park NO.
    [Show full text]
  • Global Report on Adult Learning and Education (GRALE 4)
    th 4 GLOBAL REPORT ON ADULT LEARNING AND EDUCATION LEAVE NO ONE BEHIND: PARTICIPATION, EQUITY AND INCLUSION United Nations Educational, Scientifi c and Cultural Organization United Nations Educational, Scientifi c and Cultural Organization th 4 GLOBAL REPORT ON ADULT LEARNING AND EDUCATION LEAVE NO ONE BEHIND: PARTICIPATION, EQUITY AND INCLUSION United Nations Educational, Scientifi c and Cultural Organization 2 Published 2019 by Photos Front cover, clockwise from far left: FOREWORD UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning © UNHCR/Colin Delfosse Feldbrunnenstraße 58 © UNHCR/Gordon Welters 20148 Hamburg © UNESCO Germany © UNESCO © UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning Part 1, from far left: © UNESCO The UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning © Clinton Robinson/UNESCO (UIL) undertakes research, capacity-building, © UNHCR/Gordon Welters networking and publication on lifelong © UNESCO learning with a focus on adult and continuing education, literacy and non-formal education. Chap. 1: © UNHCR/Gordon Welters Its publications are a valuable resource for Chap. 2: © UNESCO education researchers, planners, policy- Chap. 3: © UNHCR/Colin Delfosse makers and practitioners. Chap. 4: © UNESCO Chap. 5: © UNHCR/Marie-Joëlle While the programmes of UIL are Jean-Charles established along the lines laid down by Chap. 6: © UNESCO the General Conference of UNESCO, the Chap. 7: © Dusan Petkovic/Shutterstock publications of the Institute are issued under its sole responsibility. UNESCO is not Part 2, clockwise from far left: responsible for their contents. © UNESCO © goodluz/Shutterstock The points of view, selection of facts and © UNHCR/Antoine Tardy opinions expressed are those of the © goodluz/Shutterstock authors and do not necessarily coincide with official positions of UNESCO or UIL. Chap. 8: © Michel Ravassard/UNESCO Chap.
    [Show full text]
  • A Plan for an Adult Skills and Lifelong Learning Revolution: Government Response to the Committee’S Third Report
    House of Commons Education Committee A plan for an adult skills and lifelong learning revolution: Government Response to the Committee’s Third Report Third Special Report of Session 2019–21 Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 10 March 2021 HC 1310 Published on 12 March 2021 by authority of the House of Commons The Education Committee The Education Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to examine the expenditure, administration, and policy of the Department for Education and its associated public bodies. Current membership Rt Hon Robert Halfon MP (Conservative, Harlow) (Chair) Fleur Anderson MP (Labour, Putney) Apsana Begum MP (Labour, Poplar and Limehouse) Jonathan Gullis MP (Conservative, Stoke-on-Trent North) Tom Hunt MP (Conservative, Ipswich) Dr Caroline Johnson MP (Conservative, Sleaford and North Hykeham) Kim Johnson MP (Labour, Liverpool, Riverside) David Johnston MP (Conservative, Wantage) Ian Mearns MP (Labour, Gateshead) David Simmonds MP (Conservative, Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner) Christian Wakeford MP (Conservative, Bury South) Powers The Committee is one of the departmental select committees, the powers of which are set out in House of Commons Standing Orders, principally in SO No 152. These are available on the Internet via www.parliament.uk. Publications © Parliamentary Copyright House of Commons 2021. This publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Open Parliament Licence, which is published at www.parliament.uk/copyright. Committee reports are published on the Committee’s website at www.parliament.uk/education-committee and in print by Order of the House. Evidence relating to this report is published on the inquiry publications page of the Committee’s website.
    [Show full text]
  • Seven Essential Elements of a Lifelong-Learning Mind-Set
    Seven essential elements of a lifelong-learning mind-set In a rapidly changing workplace, employees need to keep learning to remain relevant and in demand. Seven practices can help them be mindful in their career path and achieve success. Jacqueline Brassey, Katie Coates, and Nick van Dam FEBRUARY 2019 © Ellagrin/Getty Images Organizations around the world are experiencing culture in which people are encouraged and inspired rapid, sweeping changes in what they do, how they do to continue learning new skills. it, and even why they do it. Increasing globalization and new technologies demand new modes of working But the burden does not fall exclusively on businesses; and talent with new and diverse skills. To flourish in it’s also up to the individual to seize the opportunity this environment, individuals must keep learning new to get ahead. Seven distinctive practices can help skills. In fact, studies show that workers who maintain employees become lifelong learners and remain their ability to learn outpace other professionals.1 relevant in today’s business environment (Exhibit 1). The people who will thrive in the 21st century will be those who embrace lifelong learning and continually 1. Focus on growth increase their knowledge, skills, and competencies.2 Learning starts and ends with the individual. But Learning and development is there a limit to how much a person can learn? Is BuildingLifelong a workforcelearning of mindsets such lifelong learners is critical intelligence fixed at birth or can it be developed? forExhibit organizations 1 of 8 to respond to a changing business In 2008, researchers asked the ten best chess players environment.
    [Show full text]
  • Lifelong Learning
    Lifelong Learning Royce Kimmons _LBW7153, US Department of Education via Flickr, CC BY-SA Learning Objectives Understand the need for lifelong learning; Understand strategies for developing a personal learning environment (PLE) and personal learning network (PLN); Identify threats to lifelong learning present in modern technologies; Choose a lifelong learning strategy that is appropriate. To be the best teacher possible, it is essential to be a lifelong learner. Lifelong learning implies that learning does not end when you leave a classroom or finish a degree. Rather, as you go through life it is The K-12 Educational Technology Handbook 1 essential for you to continually connect with other professionals to learn, to teach, and to share resources. Unwillingness to connect with others and to engage in the lifelong learning process leads to stagnation in your practice and will prevent you from being the best possible teacher for the children you serve. In the past, lifelong learning has typically been limited to resources available to you in your institution. If you are a science teacher, and you are in a school with other experienced science teachers this would be great, because you can learn, share, and grow within this community of experts who are are all working towards similar goals. However, not every teacher has the luxury of working in a school or department with other teachers that can push them and improve their practice. Social technologies empower us to connect with others in ways that were previously impossible or inefficient. With social media, such as blogs, social networking sites, discussion forum, image sharing services, and video sharing services, teachers are able to connect with other people and a variety of resources on an ongoing basis to improve their practice.
    [Show full text]
  • Assessing Lifelong Learning Technology (ALL-TECH): a Guide for Choosing and Using Technology for Adult Learning
    DOCUMENT RESUME ED 416 422 CE 075 984 AUTHOR Stites, Regie TITLE Assessing Lifelong Learning Technology (ALL-TECH): A Guide for Choosing and Using Technology for Adult Learning. Practice Guide. INSTITUTION National Center on Adult Literacy, Philadelphia, PA.; North Central Regional Educational Lab., Oak Brook, IL. SPONS AGENCY Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED), Washington, DC. REPORT NO NCAL-R-PG98-01 PUB DATE 1998-01-00 NOTE 29p. CONTRACT R302A50007 AVAILABLE FROM Literacy Research Center, Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania, 3910 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-3111; phone: 215-898-2100; fax: 215-898-9804; World Wide Web: http://www.literacyonline.org PUB TYPE Guides Non-Classroom (055) EDRS PRICE MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Access to Information; Adult Basic Education; *Adult Learning; *Educational Technology; *Evaluation Criteria; Guidelines; *Information Technology; *Lifelong Learning; Media Selection; Program Effectiveness; Use Studies ABSTRACT This guide builds on the framework for evaluating technology effectiveness in K-12 schools as described in the Council for Educational Development and Research's publication, "Plugging In: Choosing and Using Educational Technology." The revised framework is designed to provide encouragement and some rudimentary guidelines for critical thinking about applications of technology for lifelong learning. Section 1 describes the link to "Plugging In." Section 2 discusses the nature of adult (as opposed to childhood) learning and the potential roles that technology can play in helping to create learning environments ideally suited to adult learners' needs and interests. Section 3 explains the revisions of the "Plugging In" indicators of engaged learning and high performance technology. A table categorizes indicators (with their definitions) of engaged adult learning into eight variables: vision of learning, tasks, assessment, instructional model, learning context, grouping, instructor roles, and learner roles.
    [Show full text]
  • Lifelong Learning and Autonomy Within the Unschooling Movement
    Journal of Unschooling and Alternative Learning 2019 Vol. 13 Issue 25 TRUSTING CHILDREN: LIFELONG LEARNING AND AUTONOMY WITHIN THE UNSCHOOLING MOVEMENT By: Lorena SÁNCHEZ TYSON ___________________________________________________________________________ Abstract The purpose of this article is to explore the concept of autonomy in the context of education and analyse the complex features of unschooling, a particular movement within the home- based education paradigm. This study will aim to link the significance of autonomy and unschooling and place them within the wider discourse of contemporary lifelong learning (LLL) theories. Under the tenets of humanistic education theories that underline self-driven and intrinsic motivations for learning, this article will highlight the unschooling movement as an example of a subaltern pedagogical approach that is deeply rooted in institutional and ideological autonomy. More importantly, this study intends to challenge the way LLL is conceptualised and propel the international discourse surrounding it beyond the boundaries of institutional education. ___________________________________________________________________________ Keywords: Unschooling, autonomy, lifelong learning, subaltern pedagogy Trust Children. Nothing could be more simple – or more difficult. Difficult, because to trust children we must trust ourselves – and most of us were taught as children that we could not be trusted. John Holt, How Children Learn (1983: xii-xiii) ISSN: 1916-8128 Trusting Children: Lifelong Learning and Autonomy Within the Unschooling Movement Introduction With this article, I aim to explore the following issues: firstly, I will take a critical and in-depth look into the different theories that underpin the concept of autonomy in the context of education and learning. After summarising these findings, I will then analyse and highlight relevant literature surrounding home education, and the unschooling phenomenon in particular.
    [Show full text]
  • Lifelong Learning and Vocational Education
    LIFELONG LEARNING AND VOCATIONAL EDUCATION: INSTITUTIONAL REQUIREMENTS AND UNIVERSITY DIDACTICAL CONCEPT OF A MASTER DEGREE PROGRAM “TEACHING QUALIFICATION FOR VOCATIONAL EDUCATION IN THE FIELD OF HEALTH CARE AND NURSING” AT THE OTTO-VON-GUERICKE-UNIVERSITY (GERMANY) Astrid Seltrecht, Jun.-Prof. Dr. phil.1 ABSTRACT: Professional biographies of US-American nursing staff emphasize that these staff have consciously decided to conduct research for a Ph.D. in Adult Education instead of Nursing Sciences. The evaluation of the interview transcripts revealed two main categories: "Doctoral degree as an expression of a 'lived' lifelong learning" and "Doctoral degree as a scientific adaptation of skills" (Seltrecht 2014). However, these insights into the data material also revealed significant research desiderata: Can country-specific differences be made out concerning the understanding of what lifelong learning is thought to be? How can the relationship between lifelong learning and occupational education be described and what share do the specific requirements of nursing have in this context? A more in-depth comparison of countries is necessary for the professionalization of both nursing and education sciences in Germany. Such a comparison may reveal institutional conditions that accommodate a way of understanding "lived" lifelong learning that would be beneficial to the individual professionalization of each professional nurse - and could promote the collective professionalization of nursing beyond the individual case. The institutional conditions will be the focus of this year’s paper. The example of a master’s degree program “Teaching Qualification for Vocational Education in the Field of Health Care and Nursing ”at the Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg (Germany) is used as a starting point for discussion.
    [Show full text]
  • FUTURE of SKILLS and LIFELONG LEARNING Contents
    Future of Skills & Lifelong Learning 1 FUTURE OF SKILLS AND LIFELONG LEARNING Contents Executive Summary 6 Chapter 1 | Skills and Lifelong Learning: UK Challenges 10 Chapter 2 | Skills and Lifelong Learning: Benefits and Costs 20 Chapter 3 | Low Literacy and Numeracy in the UK 30 Chapter 4 | Improving the Work-Readiness of Labour Market Entrants 42 Chapter 5 | Mismatches between demand for and supply of skills 56 Chapter 6 | Low Skills Equilibria 72 Chapter 7 | Learning Across the Life Course 82 Acknowledgements 97 Commissioned papers 98 Bibliography 100 3 FUTURE OF SKILLS AND LIFELONG LEARNING Foreword Improving our skills base is critical to increasing prosperity in the UK, as well as delivering considerable benefits to society as a whole. Developing our skills is not just an aspiration, but with a changing job market is essential. This means not just raising the level of qualifications. It’s getting the right mix of abilities, technical knowledge demanded by the workplace and skills to use those abilities and knowledge. It’s about changing attitudes to learning across our lifetime and realising the positive benefits this brings. This report sets out some of the challenges the UK faces if we want to keep benefiting from better skills. Both literacy and numeracy improvements are needed as well as matching the right skills with the right jobs. A huge amount has been achieved in a short space of time. Three million high quality apprenticeships will be delivered by 2020. Local communities will be empowered to find approaches that work best for their specific needs. Different approaches through lifelong learning pilots will make sure we understand better how to make sure that becomes a reality.
    [Show full text]
  • American Universities and the Case for Lifelong Learning TABLE of CONTENTS
    NEW HORIZONS: American Universities and the Case for Lifelong Learning TABLE OF CONTENTS Overview 3 Background 3 Adult Learning and the Year of the Pandemic 4 Providing Transparency, Portability and Certainty: 10 The Case for University Involvement Conclusion 20 About the Longevity Project. We foster research and public conversation to build awareness of the implications of longer life and bring together leaders from business, government, and the social sector to plan for the transitions in health care, retirement planning, the future of work, and more. Together with our lead content collaborator, the Stanford Center on Longevity, and other leading nonprofits, think tanks, and media organizations, our goal is to support a new awareness of the longevity challenge and support change so that people around the world can live healthier, more secure, and more fulfilled lives. About “New Horizons: American Universities and the Case for Lifelong Learning”. The primary resources for this paper include original public opinion research conducted by the Longevity Project and over a dozen interviews of experts in the field, from institutions including the Stanford Center on Longevity, the Stanford Graduate School of Education, Arizona State University, Georgetown University, Purdue University, Third Way and New America. We wish to thank those experts, as well as colleagues from our partner company Instructure (the maker of Canvas LMS) who provided valuable advice and significant counsel through the development of this paper. NEW HORIZONS: AMERICAN UNIVERSITIES AND THE CASE FOR LIFELONG LEARNING OVERVIEW The year of the coronavirus pandemic augurs many changes in American society, everything from how and where we work to how we take care of our elderly population.
    [Show full text]
  • Lifelong Learning Reforming Education for an Age of Technological and Demographic Change 2 Lifelong Learning
    IoD Policy Report March 2016 Lifelong Learning Reforming education for an age of technological and demographic change 2 Lifelong Learning Author Seamus is head of employment and skills policy. He is a member of the government’s National Living Wage advisory group, the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills’ Teaching Excellence Framework advisory, the Business Enterprise Reference Group at Ofsted, the Micro-Social Change (MiSoC) Policy Advisory Group at the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) and a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Seamus Nevin Commerce (RSA). Seamus has extensive public policy experience. Prior to joining the IoD, Head of he worked in the policy unit of a party in the employment and Northern Ireland Assembly, the public affairs skills policy, IoD division of a major UK third-sector organisation, for a leading international think tank, and for an economic policy research institute operated jointly between the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and the University of Oxford. Seamus holds a (Joint Hons) BA International in history, politics and international relations from University College Dublin (UCD) where he was awarded a Parnell Scholarship and won the TD Williams Medal for graduating first place in his class. In addition he holds a diplôme from the Institut d’études politiques de Paris (Sciences Po-Paris) and an (Hons) MSc from the LSE. His LSE master’s degree dissertation was published in a scholarly periodical and he has had a number of other academic papers published. Seamus is a regular commentator across radio, print, online and television media.
    [Show full text]